General Chat

Thanks Frank. I meant to ask you how Val next door is?

I seem to have an awful lot of greenfly this year, have any of you lot got it badly too?

good morning all,

Once again, nothing to report. John is still in Hospital and has had two more operations. He is not a well man. Carolyn has no idea when he will be allowed home.

The visiting is all over the place. She has to ring the day before and is given a time to visit the following day, and is restricted to HALF AN HOUR.

Will keep you posted, how things progress.

Good morning all, sunny but a cool breeze out there at the moment but it says 17 degrees. I have watered and tidies up out there because I am being picked up to go to a friends for coffee at 10.30, she is collecting me so she can show me where to go, apparently people get lost finding her house, it is in the same village, in the older part.

that will be nice to get away Vera, but would you not actually be able to go at the moment with the rules as they stand.

tomorrow I have the tree man coming to look at the bushes I want removing.

They live in Yorkshire Mel. It’s about 4 hours drive if you don’t stop and there are no traffic problems. Because of all the Covid restrictions we haven’t seen them for 20 months now so I am really looking forward to going.

Morning Vera and all,

Overcast here this morning with grey sky and it not very bright at all which means it could be a border job this afternoon if the sun stays in.

That will be nice to have a few days away with your son Vera do they live far away I can't remember if you said before?

F & C van comes today so perhaps no cooking for me today.

Morning all

It looks like it’s going to be another hot day. OH has gone out for his walk and I’m going to do the ironing shortly before it gets too hot to bother.

It was another lousy night including getting up at 1.30 am to go out and turn the garage light off. I was tempted to leave it till this morning but I was awake anyway.

Son phoned last night with possible dates for us to go and visit. We’ve settled on 4 or 5 days towards the end of July and son and dil are collecting us and bringing us back so we won’t have any driving to do. I’m really looking forward to seeing them all and spending time away from this house so I just hope Boris doesn’t have to change the rules again.

Right, ironing board here I come.

Ann you are having trouble with that new telly. Do they realiose you hav'nt a telly to watch?It dos'nt matter if you don't watch a lot of telly but they don't know that. Its horrid waiting fo rall these things and then to be disappointed when nothing goes right. So thats another week you have to wait its just not on is it?

Vera hope you get a good nights sleep tonight to make you feel better tomorrow.

Anng that was a good idea to get your dressing sorted out. Do you have a back brush for the bath and shower you could have tried that.

Oh has left the light on in his filter shed but has gone to bed worn out so I suppose muggins will have to go and do it. The swallows are in ther and they won't like that on all night.

Robby is still feeding his second brood around the garden but I hav'nt seen her for a coupole of days so perhaps she's laying more eggs. I shall only know when Robby brings me the dirty nappies and wipes them on the fence. I think there is three in this brood. There was three or four in the first one.

I have been busy in the shed today as its been too hopt to go up hte border. I have sown more beetroot in a trough and peas in a large pot and lettuce have been pricked out in another little hex shaped planter. Courgette is doing well and the cabbages. repotted a lavender and potted up some parsley and three extra lettuce in pots. Fished more leaves out of my pond and fed the strawberries and tomatoes. Think I am due a little rest now and finish watching Time.

Oh Vera, I hope you can sleep tonight and feel better tomorrow I think it is the heat overnight that doesn’t help.. At least you got all your errands done and the conservatory floor as well. I suspect staff are told not to challenge people about masks in case they are exempt.

Ann well done on getting them to change the TV as of course they should have done still another wait though, that is the trouble these days, Curry’s have very little competition. Let us hope it all goes well this time and also that the new bed arrives ok but is that due tomorrow as well as the old one going?

Mandy so that is you double zapped, that is good.

Oh Vera, I see you had a bad night and the tummy churning that I had. I hope you have started to feel better now. At least you got your errands done and it is easy to forget your mask. Don't they make your face hot too! I wish I could come home to find the conservatory floor all cleaned! :-)

We have been to Curry's and related our sorry tale. They suggested a new TV and set up, no quibbles, but asked us to bring the old one back ourselves! I said we couldn't with osteoporosis and bad knees (I thought what if we dropped it as well!). I said surely they could pick up the old one when they delivered the new one and the chap agreed, so that was sorted. He said they would try to get the engineers to set it up the same day. We had to see someone else to arrange that and it took 3 quarters of an hour for them to do it!! It's all done online and eventually it crashed and he had to see someone else and use an ipad. He was sooo slow and then he had to go and find someone else as he didn't know how to do a print we asked for. OH muttered to me 'why do we always get the duff one?' They couldn't get an engineer the same day as the delivery, so the tv comes on Saturday and the engineer next Tuesday! I was annoyed we had to be inside the shop for an hour, just when you want to be quick, but with going at 6.00pm there was only a handfull of customers.

We are having an early night tonight!

Evening all

No no reaction Vera just a sore arm when I lift it .
So your nice and clean in the conservatory now a job well done.

Oh dear Ann what a todo with the tele I hope your getting sorted now and that they will soon get it all working for you.

We have just got back from taking Max for his vaccination, they thought the lump was just a fatty lump but we could have it tested to make sure so they did that while he was in there , we also got six months flea and wormer tablets .
The testing of the lump was £94 odd and thats with the discount from the insurance .

Just having a cold drink my goodness it was so hot today I think we might be in for a restless night .

Good to see you Frank and know you are OK.

What a kerfuffle with your TV Ann. It really annoys me when no-one will take responsibility for a problem, particularly when you have paid good money to have it set up for you. I hope it gets fixed for you quickly. If not, a polite but firm letter to someone high up in the company will probably get results. We had a problem with Bathstore a few years ago and after going from pillar to post for weeks I found out the name of the Chief Executive and wrote direct to him. I had a phone call of apology the next day and a promise that a new part was being couriered to me. I asked how much the part cost and was told £4. I couldn’t believe how much money, time and effort had been wasted by the company to avoid spending £4!!!

That was very resourceful of you to use a hairbrush to smooth down your dressing AnnG. Good thinking :-D. It will probably stay in place now till your next visit to the nurse

Sorry to hear that you have some hospital visits coming up Mel but, if it’s anything like our hospital, you will feel very safe there.

I hope you haven’t had any reaction to your jab Mandy.

I’ve had a few decent nights lately so I was very disappointed to have a terrible night last night. I got up feeling dreadful with my innards churning away again, my back aching badly and my head aching. I nearly cancelled my hair appointment but decided to go and try to get all my errands in town done in one morning. Golly, it was hot and I had to walk from one end of town to the other but I got everything done. I must have the cleanest hands around as I think I sanitised them going in and out of 5 different places. I went to W H Smith’s and was horrified as I was leaving to realise I hadn’t got my mask on. I called out an apology to the assistant who had just served me and she wasn’t a bit bothered that I hadn’t got a face covering on and seemed surprised when I said I wished she had mentioned it. I felt really bad about it but luckily the assistant was the only other person around.

While I was out OH washed the conservatory floor so we’re all nice and clean there for a little while at least. Then Sainsbury’s delivery came. I shall be emailing a complaint about the picking and packing. Stuff seemed to have been shoved into the crates any old how so boxes were battered and things squashed. Even the driver noticed the squashed, flattened buns and arranged a refund himself. When I sorted out the rest of the stuff there was a pack of 6 fruit pies so bashed about that 2 of them had to be thrown away, a couple of other squashed boxes where I managed to rescue the contents, a cucumber that had some sort of cut that had gone through the plastic and into the cucumber and a quiche with a Use By date of today. I was not a happy bunny.

It’s still 22 degrees outside so I think we might eat in the garden tonight. I’d better go and see if I need to get the scrubbing brush out first. The pigeons are very good at “decorating” the table :-|

We are off to Curry's shortly AnnG. They'd better get their finger out and sort this out. The engineer rightly said he had done his bit installing it and it is a fault with the telly. So we'll see what Curry's have to say first.

The day hasn't got better. I decided to renew our house insurance and found a good quote with Hastings but wanted to check something with them. I tried their 'chat' online but it said they didn't discuss house insurance and I would have to ring. The number was shown but that made a disconnected sound when I tried it. I then found an 0800 number by googling and that said they were busy and had a 60 min wait!! Half an hour later our phone went dead! It is back now though. :-S

OH has emptied the bed drawers ready for it to be moved outside for collection tomorrow and moved our food store in that room to make space for the new bed to be assembled. OH has had his jab in his elbow and says it is aching now!

sometimes it pays to go back to the currys where you bought it and shout at the customer service desk. T has actually had to do that with several things in the past (no he didn't shout but he was firm). He would never take the extended guarantee as he always said it was not worth it. So, is the actual problem (do you know?) Sky, your TV or your internet provider (Or is that also Sky?)

Sorry you didn't feel well yesterday but pleased you are better today.
I am wearling a very loose T shirt and so far it has been ok, it is mainly my bra strap that can catch, I managed to get a hair brush and use the handle end to smooth the dressing down. fingers crossed it will remain ok until Thursday - next appointment.

After lunch (mushroom omelette) I swapped my sweaters for summer shirts and tops that was swapping them from top rail to lower rail in the wardrobe and vice versa. Also found all my 'best' i.e. going out tops so they are in the wardrobe that was T's. I will give them a couple of years and if they are not used they will go

O dear Ann it seems to be like everything else at the moment. Gone are the days of buying a telly and plugging it in and sitting down and watching it. Some times this new tec is'nt as good as it should be. He should'nt have left you with a telly that comes back on when its turned off. He should have checked that before he left you. I would be having a very strong word with curry's if I were you and I bet the tv was'nt cheap! :-0 :-0 :-0

I am now going out in the garden but its too hot to go up the border.

Afternoon All,

Another lovely sunny day and a good sleep.

I didn't feel well yesterday after such a sleepless night and tum didn't feel right and headachey, but I'm much better today.

Oh Mel what a nuisance having to go to Barnstaple. I feel just the same about hospitals and my next appointment is looming up! At least you have far less cases of the virus where you are which is good.

What a nuisance about your dressing AnnG. I can understand you getting upset as it hasn't been easy for you to get dressings changed and this must have felt like the last straw. Could you wear something in the day that won't catch the dressing, a baggy shirt or slip a buttonned v neck cardigan on back to front? I suppose it depends where the dressing is.

I bet Mandy is glad to be getting a trim now it's quite hot. It will be much cooler.

We are in a living nightmare with our new TV! The engineer came to set it up yesterday and it took and hour and a half and he must have tramped through all the bungalow, touching the printer, my laptop, several plug sockets, chairs, door handles and he needed to use the toilet (I don't begrudge him that) so it was a massive wipe down after he went. He has disconnected the hub (we were told it was a booster!) the SKY man put in as he said the tv was trying to connect to that and the router we have and failing. After he went, we found that when we switch the tv off after a few seconds, it comes back on again. The only was to get it to stay off is to switch off at the plug. This morning OH rang Curry's but after 22 minutes trying to get through, he rang Knowhow instead who the engineer was from and they said the engineer would ring back. Well he did, in the middle of my zoom course while OH was at the docs for his injection and he said we would need to sort it out! I made him ring back when OH was here so he was sure what OH had tried. OH had looked online and found there is the same problem on several tvs. He did ring back and in the end he said he couldn't come back without charging us again without US getting Curry's to give him authorisation!! Despite the fact we had paid for installation!) OH managed to get through to Curry's and they said the software needed updating so OH told them the engineer had updated the software while he installed it, so they then said we needed to phone SONY. OH phoned SONY to be told a whole list of complicated steps to try and fix it and he said NO, I have paid for this to all be done for us, so in the end she emailed what she thought needed to be done and OH has printed it off and will tell the engineer who is phoning back this afternoon to see what Curry's said. OH is going to give him the impression Curry's have authorised him to come, but he may contact them to check and still say we will have to pay him to fix it!!!! We'll see what happens, but really we shouldn't even be having to waste our time and money on these phone calls. We paid for a new tv to be installed and working properly. Any problems should be for Curry's, SONY and the engineer to sort out and put right between them. What awful service! If the engineer won't come again, we are going to Curry's tonight !!!! What hope is there of getting future warranty repairs done without this passing from pillar to post??

glad you are OK Frank, enjoy the sun.
Phew 20 degrees here. Been in the garden for a couple of hours. did a lot of clearing of the clematis and some winter flowering jasmine, and tidied some tall irises (not sure what sort) on the right hand side of the garden. then trimmed the horrible yew bush and the euonymus out the front.
And I have just sent an e mail to the local tree surgeon to see if he would be able to remove the last two bushes, they are too much for me to control and the yew is getting too tall. I asked T to get it out two years ago but for some reason he was attached to it (the Yew) and the euonymus was fine while it was small but is too big now.
so that is my gardening for today. Oh I also checked the tomatoes and cues in the greenhouse and they are fine. Will water them again later.

Thanks Frank we just like to know you are ok and enjoying your books.

Done the wipe down and been in the garden fishing dead stuff out of my pond.

MORNING ALL. Everything is fine. but I haven't been doing anything to write about.

Love to you all, xxxx

Morning Anng and all,

Nice sunny morning here blue skies and little white mackerally type clouds high in the sky with bigger puffy clouds lower down.

The big wipe down should be coming a bit earlier todayso I am ready just having a nice COC and taking my morning pill.

Then if all woks out nicely I shall go in the shed and water everything and feed the strawberries and do some more gardening of some sort. I just love the days when you can get into the garden and fiddle about with whatever you want. Still hv'nt got my short beans in their pot so I may do that first as they are big enough to handle now.

Good morning all, nice sunny morning out there, slept well last night Not long woken up. Probably a bit of a gardening day today, not sure what else. Should do some H/W I suppose. BBL when the world is awake.